In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. We also grow a lesser number of open pollinated seeds of each of these fruits. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of plum tree, which has been denominated varietally as ‘Plumcandy XIII’
During a typical blooming season we isolate as seed parents both individual and groups of different plum trees by covering them with screen houses. A hive of bees is placed inside each such house, and bouquets to provide pollen from different plum, apricot, and interspecific hybrid trees are placed in buckets near the trees approximately every two days for the duration of the bloom. During 2004 one such house containing ‘Plumsweettwo’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,196) plum was crossed in this manner. To pollinate this plum tree, we selected bouquets from several sources of plum trees without keeping specific written details. Upon reaching maturity the fruit from this plum tree was harvested, and the seeds were removed, cracked, stratified and germinated as a group with the label “H15”. They were grown as seedlings on their own root in our greenhouse and upon reaching dormancy transplanted to a cultivated area of our experimental orchard located near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). During the summer of 2009 the claimed variety was selected by us as a single plant from the group of seedlings described above. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of plum tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original tree in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of ‘Nemaguard’ (unpatented) rootstock upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, ‘Plumsweettwo’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,196), by being self-unfruitful and by producing plums that are very sweet in flavor, firm in texture, and full red to purple in skin color, but is very distinguished therefrom by producing plums that are yellow instead of full red flesh color, that are larger in size, that are freestone instead of clingstone in type, and that mature about ninety days later.
The present variety is most similar to ‘September Yummy’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,220) plum by having a large tree, by being self-unfruitful, and by producing plums that are nearly full red with moderate freckling in skin color, mostly yellow in flesh color, juicy, firm in texture, but is distinguished therefrom by being more irregular in setting and by producing plums that are sweeter in flavor, that are oblate instead of globose in shape, and that ripen about thirty days later.